Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
Slate Grey Metal Gustave Bar Stool 65 cm Natural Walnut by HARTO
Located in Geneve, CH
Slate Grey Metal Gustave Bar Stool 65 cm Natural Walnut by HARTO Dimensions: W 42 x D 42 x H 65 cm. Materials: Solid wood, Painted metal. Weight: 5.5 kg ...
Metal
Slate Grey Metal Gustave Stool 45 cm Natural Oak by HARTO
Located in Geneve, CH
Slate Grey Metal Gustave Stool 45 cm Natural Oak by HARTO Dimensions: W 35.5 x D 35.5 x H 45 cm. Materials: Solid wood, Painted metal. Weight: 3.8 kg Gustave is a stool with clean ...
Metal
$1,465 / item
Sweet Fuchsia Koncord High Stool by Karim Rashid
Located in Geneve, CH
Sweet Fuchsia Koncord High Stool by Karim Rashid Dimensions: D 40 x W 43 x H 76 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 5 kg. Available in different color options. Available in standar...
Other
$2,608 / item
Jeane Stool by Munna
Located in Geneve, CH
Jeane Stool by Munna Dimensions: D 53 x W 53 x H 45 cm. SH: 45 cm. Materials: Wood, foam, brass, and leather. Finish: Upholstery: Leather, ref. Cream, L02. Ring: Polished brass. Ava...
Brass
$1,465 / item
Mellow 50 Stool by Munna
Located in Geneve, CH
Mellow 50 Stool by Munna Dimensions: D 50 x W 50 x H 50 cm. SH: 50 cm. Materials: Wood, foam, and upholstery. Finish: Cotton Velvet upholstery. Available in all Munna fabrics except...
Upholstery, Wood, Foam
Medium Sea Green Acapulco Barstool by OK Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Medium Sea Green Acapulco Barstool by OK Design Dimensions: D 57 x W 57 x H 66 cm. Materials: Powder-coated metal, PVC cord. Available in high and medium. Available in other colors....
Metal
$2,001 / item
Mellow 70 Stool by Munna
Located in Geneve, CH
Mellow 70 Stool by Munna Dimensions: D 70 x W 70 x H 50 cm. SH: 50 cm. Materials: Wood, foam, and upholstery. Finish: Cotton Velvet upholstery. Available in all Munna fabrics except...
Upholstery, Foam, Wood
$2,859 / item
Polaire Counter Stool by Munna
Located in Geneve, CH
Polaire Counter Stool by Munna Dimensions: D 51 x W 51 x H 96 cm. SH: 70 cm. Materials: Solid wood, foam, brass, and upholstery. Finish: Upholstery: Trevira Velvet, ref. Royal Blue, ...
Brass
$2,001 / item
Mellow 70 Stool by Munna
Located in Geneve, CH
Mellow 70 Stool by Munna Dimensions: D 70 x W 70 x H 50 cm. SH: 50 cm. Materials: Wood, foam, and upholstery. Finish: Cotton Velvet upholstery. Available in all Munna fabrics except...
Upholstery, Foam, Wood
$2,847 / item
Polaire Bar Stool by Munna
Located in Geneve, CH
Polaire Bar Stool by Munna Dimensions: D 51 x W 51 x H 106 cm. SH: 80 cm. Materials: Solid wood, foam, brass, and upholstery. Finish: Upholstery: Trevira Velvet, ref. Royal Blue, TRV...
Brass
$1,906 / item
Fran Stool by GIROTTI ENRICO
Located in Geneve, CH
Fran Stool by GIROTTI ENRICO Dimensions: W 64 x D 51 x H 101 cm Materials: Steel, Upholstery. Weight: 8 Kg. Enrico Girotti is an industrial designer who has found in the word “make...
Steel
$14,784 / item
Adolesence Stool by Ella Bulley
Located in Geneve, CH
Adolesence Stool by Ella Bulley Limited Edition Of 15 Pieces Dimensions: D 40 x W 49 x H 106 cm. Materials: Walnut and red wood. Ella Bulley is a Material Design Studio based in Lon...
Wood, Walnut
$12,270 / item
Spirituality Stool by Ella Bulley
Located in Geneve, CH
Spirituality Stool by Ella Bulley Limited Edition Of 15 Pieces Dimensions: D 40 x W 40 x H 116 cm. Materials: Walnut and red wood. Ella Bulley is a Material Design Studio based in L...
Wood, Walnut
$1,060 / item
Layout Low Square Stool by Studio Super Sunday
Located in Geneve, CH
Layout Low Square Stool by Studio Super Sunday Dimensions: D 33 x W 33 x H 45,7 cm. Materials: Oak. Available in six different finishes. Prices may vary. Please contact us. We are ...
Oak
$1,107 / item
Black Tangerine Stool by Resident
Located in Geneve, CH
Black Tangerine Stool by Resident Dimensions: W 40 x D 37 x H 70 cm Materials: Solid Oak, Oak Veneer. Weight: 4.6 Kg. About: Founded by Simon James & Scott Bridgens in 2011, Reside...
Oak
$1,775 / item
Macaron Low Stool by Haymann Editions
Located in Geneve, CH
Macaron Low Stool by Haymann Editions Dimensions: D 60 x W 60 x H 35 cm. Materials: Cork, foam. Toni Grilo delivers a gourmet piece, all in curves. Macaron stool brown cork evokes o...
Foam, Cork
$1,107 / item
Layout Counter Stool by Studio Super Sunday
Located in Geneve, CH
Layout Counter Stool by Studio Super Sunday Dimensions: D 33 x W 33 x H 61 cm. Materials: Oak. Available in six different finishes. Prices may vary. Please contact us. We are a Can...
Oak
Sweet Fuschia Amélie Sgabello Stool by Italo Pertichini
Located in Geneve, CH
Sweet Fuschia Amélie Sgabello Stool by Italo Pertichini Dimensions: D 40 x W 46 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 4 kg. Available in a standa...
Other
$2,585 / item
Pedina Stool by Kreoo
Located in Geneve, CH
Pedina Stool by Kreoo Designed by Enzo Berti Dimensions: Ø 36 x H 43 cm. Base: Ø 25 cm. Materials: Grigio St. Marie marble. Available in different marble options. Please contact us...
Marble
Pebble Bar Stool Small Smoked Oak Black Noir by Warm Nordic
Located in Geneve, CH
Pebble bar stool small smoked oak black noir by Warm Nordic Dimensions: D 38 x H 65 cm Material: Oiled solid ash, Smoked solid oak, Black noir powder...
Steel
$4,205 / item
Leather Medea Stool by Amura Lab
Located in Geneve, CH
Leather Medea Stool by Amura Lab Dimensions: W 52 x D 52 x H 80 cm Materials: STRUCTURE: Moulded polyurethane foam + fiberglass PADDING: polyurethane foam, density 35+45 kg/m³ BASE: ...
Metal
$559 / item
Pampa Leather Counter Stool by Cuero Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Pampa Leather Counter Stool by Cuero Design Dimensions: D 47 x W 47 x H 65 cm. Materials: Leather and metal. Finish: Black leather and black frame. Av...
Metal
$2,620 / item
Meta Stool by Jaclyn Pappalardo
Located in Geneve, CH
Meta Stool by Jaclyn Pappalardo Dimensions: W 47 x D 36 x H 49 cm Materials: Pine wood, upholstery foam and Denim, Blue Bute fabric. Jaclyn is a designer and maker based in London....
Upholstery, Plywood, Fabric
$6,325 / item
Element Red Marble Stool by Idaaf Architects
Located in Geneve, CH
Element Red Marble Stool by Idaaf Architects Dimensions: W 75 x D 40 x H 55 cm Materials: Georgian Red Marble ‘Element’, which combines furniture of different functions, was created under the influence of the Georgian Oda house...
Marble
$1,786 / item
Red Soft Cubo Stool by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Red Soft Cubo Stool by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 5 kg. Available in different color options. This product is suitable for ind...
Other
$559 / item
Pampa Leather Counter Stool by Cuero Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Pampa Leather Counter Stool by Cuero Design Dimensions: D 47 x W 47 x H 65 cm. Materials: Leather and metal. Finish: Oak leather and black frame. Avai...
Metal
$714 / item
Lime Green Cubo Pouf Stool by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Lime Green Cubo Pouf Stool by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 43 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 4 kg. Available in different color options. This product is suitable ...
Other
Dartagnan Tinto Ebano Ash Bar Stool by Haymann Editions
Located in Geneve, CH
Dartagnan Tinto Ebano Ash Bar Stool by Haymann Editions Dimensions: D 53.5 x W 50.5 x H 95.5 cm. Materials: Crosta Tortora leather, Tinto Ebano ash. Available in different ash finis...
Leather, Ash
$3,061 / item
MG102 Kitchen Bar Stool by Malte Gormsen
Located in Geneve, CH
MG102 Kitchen Bar Stool by Malte Gormsen Dimensions: D 37 x W 43 x H 65 cm. Materials: Dark Nature oak, blackened metal. Available in Nature, Raw Nature, Light Nature, Grey Nature, ...
Metal
$536 / item
Saffron Yellow Cin Cin Stool by SLIDE Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Saffron Yellow Cin Cin Stool by SLIDE Studio Dimensions: Ø 32 x H 49 cm. Seat Height: 49 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 2 kg. Available in different color options. This produc...
Other
$3,061 / item
MG102 Kitchen Bar Stool by Malte Gormsen
Located in Geneve, CH
MG102 Kitchen Bar Stool by Malte Gormsen Dimensions: D 37 x W 43 x H 65 cm. Materials: Oak, blackened metal. Available in Nature, Raw Nature, Light Nature, Grey Nature, and Dark Na...
Metal
$822 / item
Invito Stool by Dale Italia
Located in Geneve, CH
Invito Stool by Dale Italia Dimensions: D 39 x W 39 x H 42/59 cm. Materials: Walnut. Stools in solid canaletto walnut. Available in two different size options and grey/natural walnu...
Walnut
$2,358 / item
Burnt Black D Tables / Stools by Touch With Eyes
Located in Geneve, CH
Burnt Black D Tables / Stools by Touch With Eyes Dimensions: W 30 x D 30 x H 45 cm Materials: Wood washed out by the sea. Weight: 20 Kg. The black tables were made of wood washed o...
Wood
Chocolate Brown Amélie Sit Up High Stool by Italo Pertichini
Located in Geneve, CH
Chocolate Brown Amélie Sit Up High Stool by Italo Pertichini Dimensions: D 49 x W 45 x H 95 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in a standard version and lacquered ...
Other
$13,366 / item
Object 08 Brown Seating by Volta
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 08 Brown Seating by Volta One Of A Kind. Dimensions: D 80 x W 80 x H 30 cm. Materials: Cork and ceramic. Also available in diffentent colors. Please contact us. MEÏ COLLECTI...
Ceramic, Cork
$3,145 / item
Saddle Counter Stool by Laylo Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Saddle Counter Stool by Laylo Studio Dimensions: D 45.7 x H 66 cm. Materials: Ebonized walnut. LAYLO is the practice of Sam and Lydia Link. Founded with the intention of building t...
Walnut
$464 / item
Mocca and Black Trifolium Stool by OxDenmarq
Located in Geneve, CH
Mocca and Black Trifolium Stool by OxDenmarq Dimensions: D 40 x W 40 x H 45 cm Materials: Leather, Steel Also Available: Different colors and other frame color available, OX DE...
Steel
$7,648 / item
Barth Stool by Le Berre Vevaud
Located in Geneve, CH
Barth Stool by Le Berre Vevaud Dimensions: D 37 x H 45 cm. Materials: Solid basswood, covered by mineral plaster and lacquered in Aubergine ALV-L0038 glossy color. For over 15 year...
Plaster, Wood
Set of 4, Airisto Side Tables/Stools, Natural Color by Made by Choice
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 4, Airisto side tables/stools, natural color by Made By Choice By Choice with Joanna Laajisto Dimensions: D35 x H45 cm Materials: Solid Ash. Finishes: Natural Ash / Painte...
Wood, Ash
$2,049 / item
RUA CHA Footstool by Clementine Caurier
Located in Geneve, CH
RUA CHA Footstool by Clementine Caurier Dimensions: D 60 x W 80 x H 40 cm. Materials: Ash, wool, and linen. RUA CHA footstool is based on a light, crossed structure in solid wood. T...
Wool, Linen, Ash
$3,600
1980s "Duplex" Stool
Located in Toronto, CA
Playful stool in primary colours with an eighties pedigree. Spanish artist Javier Mariscal (b. 1950) first created it for the Duplex Bar in Valencia in 1980, and it was commercialize...
Steel
Dartagnan Tinto Noce Ash Bar Stool by Haymann Editions
Located in Geneve, CH
Dartagnan Tinto Noce Ash Bar Stool by Haymann Editions Dimensions: D 53.5 x W 50.5 x H 95.5 cm. Materials: Nero leather, Tinto Noce ash. Available in different ash finishes and leather options. Please contact us. With its commitment to get to the point, Toni Grilo...
Leather, Ash
$4,717 / item
Twisted Table / Stool by Touch With Eyes
Located in Geneve, CH
Twisted Table / Stool by Touch With Eyes Dimensions: W 40 x D 40 x H 45 cm Materials: Wood, from pine tree, Wax and Oil. Weight: 20 Kg. The chair was made from pine tree that fell...
Wood
$1,179 / item
High Moi Bar Stool by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
High Moi Bar Stool by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: W 51 x D 58 x H 109 cm Materials: Metal, Fabric. Also available in W 51 x D 58 x H 93 cm, Seat Height: 60 cm....
Fabric
$1,465 / item
Jet Black Koncord High Stool by Karim Rashid
Located in Geneve, CH
Jet Black Koncord High Stool by Karim Rashid Dimensions: D 40 x W 43 x H 76 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 5 kg. Available in different color options. Available in standard, g...
Other
$13,211 / item
Barri Stool by Le Berre Vevaud
Located in Geneve, CH
Barri Stool by Le Berre Vevaud Dimensions: D 39.5 x H 45 cm. Materials: Brushed Natural Oak Ring in Brown Emperador. For over 15 years, Raphaël Le Berre and Thomas Vevaud have been...
Oak
$1,000 / item
High Presto Bar Stool by Doimo Brasil
Located in Geneve, CH
High Presto Bar Stool by Doimo Brasil Dimensions: W 48 x D 48 x H 102 cm Materials: Satinado, Leather. Also available in W 48 x D 48 x H 86 cm, Seat Height: 60 cm. With the inten...
Leather
$1,501 / item
Halikko Stool Backrest, Black by Made by Choice
Located in Geneve, CH
Halikko stool backrest, black by Made By Choice Dimensions: 47 x 42 x 84 cm Materials: solid oak Standard finishes: natural wood / painted black. Also available: upholstery in...
Oak
Large Pausa Oak Bench by Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte
Located in Geneve, CH
Large Pausa oak bench by Pierre-Emmanuel Vandeputte Dimensions: D 35 x W 95 x H 80 cm Materials: oak wood. Available in burnt oak version and in 3 sizes. ...
Oak
$11,055 / item
Slumped Leather Stool by Gentner Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Slumped leather stool by Gentner Design. Dimensions: D 48 x W 48 x H 43 cm. Materials: aluminium, raw leather. These uniquely shaped stools are incredibly lightweight and extrem...
Aluminum
$2,978 / item
Lune A Stool by Duistt
Located in Geneve, CH
Lune A Stool by Duistt Dimensions: D 40 x H 45 cm Materials: Duistt Fabric, Satin Ironwood, Brass The Ironwood tray is optional. Please contact us for any request. LUNE A stool, cra...
Brass
$1,501 / item
Flow Hi Aureo Stool by GIROTTI ENRICO
Located in Geneve, CH
Flow Hi Aureo Stool by GIROTTI ENRICO Dimensions: W 44 x D 41 x H 82 cm Materials: Steel, Upholstery. Weight: 4 Kg. Enrico Girotti is an industrial designer who has found in the wo...
Steel
Powder Blue Amélie Sit Up High Stool by Italo Pertichini
Located in Geneve, CH
Powder Blue Amélie Sit Up High Stool by Italo Pertichini Dimensions: D 49 x W 45 x H 95 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 6 kg. Available in a standard version and lacquered vers...
Other
$2,549 / item
Not a Cube Stool by InsidherLand
Located in Geneve, CH
Not a Cube Stool by InsidherLand Dimensions: D 48 x W 48 x H 65 cm. Materials: Wood, InsidherLand InsidherLand North Ref.1 fabric, Grid Ref.1 fabric. ...
Upholstery, Wood
Saffron Yellow Double U Stool by Kazuko Okamoto
Located in Geneve, CH
Saffron Yellow Double U Stool by Kazuko Okamoto Dimensions: D 43 x W 43 x H 58 cm. Materials: Polyethylene. Weight: 7 kg. Available in different color options. This product is suit...
Other
$5,146 / item
Amadeo Stool by Joana Teixeira
Located in Geneve, CH
Amadeo Stool by Joana Teixeira Dimensions: D 37,5 x W 45 x H 42 cm. Materials: Velvet, satin, stainless steel and wood. Customization is available upon request. Please contact us. ...
Stainless Steel
Set of 4 SPC Black Chairs by Atelier Thomas Serruys
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 4 SPC black chairs by Atelier Thomas Serruys. Dimensions: D65 x W43 x H46. Materials: steel, powder coated. Steel chair made of one shaped tube with sheet steel seat and ...
Steel
$880Sale Price|20% Off
Stool ASHIGARU-7 by POPCORN
By POPCORN
Located in 加須市, 11
Stools, display stands, and interior design elements ASHIGARU means "a common foot soldier" in Japanese, so named because it looks like a common foot soldier. It weighs 13 kg.
Steel
$800Sale Price|27% Off
Stool ASHIGARU-5 by POPCORN
By POPCORN
Located in 加須市, 11
Stools, display stands, and interior design elements ASHIGARU means "a common foot soldier" in Japanese, so named because it looks like a common foot soldier. It weighs 13 kg.
Steel
$800Sale Price|27% Off
Stool ASHIGARU-3 by POPCORN
By POPCORN
Located in 加須市, 11
Stools, display stands, and interior design elements ASHIGARU means "a common foot soldier" in Japanese, so named because it looks like a common foot soldier. It weighs 13 kg.
Steel